# Aligning Product & Software Design ## Context ### Average company * Strong boundaries between Technical and Business * Technical debt ? * Developers * "We don't have time to improve our system" * "We are struggling with technical debt" * Vicious circle * Business * "We need more features" ### How to avoid that ? * Problem ? * **Project mindset** * Get to that end * Great for something with a start and an end * Optimize the means to that end * Software product * Continuous evolution * Not a great fit for project * Sequence of valuable increment * **Should look at** * **Not only cost** * **Continuous investment** {% hint style="warning" %} ***"There is a tension between the way we manage project and the way we manage product"*** {% endhint %} * Product strategy * Defined isolated from technology * Product backlog created * By the business * Only there the Dev team is coming in * Not part of the product definition * So the **result = Reactive design** * Do not have time to architect * End by begging for time * To refactor for example * As **developers** * We must explain the value of designing software * Part of the meeting **to contribute** * BUT we don't know exactly HOW * We need to have something to add * Be able to explain Biz value of design * Not only to be able to organize our code * Can have a huge role * Examples * Enable different teams to work in parallel * Need to design our code to do so * Be able to automate -> for CD purpose * Enable the way that we need to work ### Different levels of design * Enterprise Architecture * How your product fits in a larger ecosystem * Solutions Architecture * Solution of your product * How we re gonna do / split * Technical Architecture * What technology * SLA * ... * Macro Design * Components * Overall structure * Micro Design * Classes * Functions * Methods #### When we design ? {% hint style="info" %} *"We often struggle to find the time"* {% endhint %} ### Understand Product design ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcmnKdj3n4wwsq5wiC%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=1b21193e-2dad-4aa4-aec3-bd00908df842) * Looks a lot like Waterfall * ***Make it iterative*** ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcmvftoSVhAX9y5cSX%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=eb047a6b-6f85-4b39-a58f-fd0efea7e19e) * Devs involved only in the development * Through the product backlog * Not able to create the technical strategy * Not have time here ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcne4v9W-4rFk4UPm5%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=30509c85-3c9e-435d-be44-286629b5ebce) ## 1) Ideation In startup product is part of the company ### Build a vision for the product: NOT A PLAN * A direction * Guiding our work * Create a context to offer services ### Product Definition ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcq2QJ0CaII-knmBBB%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=f491c1ca-2326-4bc5-a42d-a8d7ef2a8918) ### Value Proposition Canvas * Shape the scope of our product * 1 canvas per customer segmentation ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcq8vgV55-EEt0vQ6j%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=cbd87e6e-fd35-4e7c-a4ba-3c0d74797a45) ### Technical Feasibility * Build a technical vision * Create a unified view with business & technology ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcqPKOu_t5-X_Poc-J%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=ed7fe539-aee4-4ec7-80e9-a819ac04f8f0) ### Results {% hint style="success" %} * Business & technology alignment * Shared & more realistic product vision * Context for pro-active & supportive tech strategy {% endhint %} ## 2) Strategy ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcqjKQAoJmyjMhmFaR%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=02dc8258-255d-4a86-9415-d8185a19f290) ### Create a roadmap * Use Lean Startup approach ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcqsSoB_CGOCyd2Qht%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=5710cc3f-0ae1-4715-9b3d-f748e791de5a) ### Create an architecture * Define the technology stack * Refine what has been done in Tech feasibility * Design to support the way of the business ### Results {% hint style="success" %} * Common understanding of business & technical strategy * Technical architecture created to support the business * More realistic & sustainable product roadmap with Biz and tech * High level modularisation makes it easier to plan {% endhint %} ## 3) Planning * Use the term Minimum Valuable Increment * Need to invest in technical things ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcVOZPsqpv6zCULGa3%2F-MBcrXNc2quGAVWUzEWF%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=8d7ffeca-14e0-4b9b-b342-3ba21c7b79d3) ### [Impact Mapping](https://www.impactmapping.org/) * Validate the value towards the goal * Validate the things we want to build by value > Generate your backlog from the Impact Mapping ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcraM27D0yMlapg3q6%2F-MBcs30F6kzCEAPk-l7I%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=21db5731-ff74-4fdd-b547-90b92f0a1635) ### Create a plan * Achieve Continuous Delivery * Several teams working in parallel ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcraM27D0yMlapg3q6%2F-MBcsCXKxwWo8u2P6FCI%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=2c0b13f4-5052-4c57-b4ba-df51c6cde013) * Discover a lot of unknown * Help to reshape our backlog ## Results {% hint style="success" %} * Technical effort, risks & dependencies impact prioritization of MVI's * Easier to size MVI's when high level technical details are known * Helps to distribute work across teams efficiently * Technical solution designed to support Continuous Delivery (goal of Agile) {% endhint %} ## 4) Development ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBcraM27D0yMlapg3q6%2F-MBcsiN4zQmgEFKoB3S6%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=c0d3e098-f54f-4ee2-b01a-5c38a21665bd) * Design Apis from your mockup * Outside IN * What is the outside world expecting from us ### Results {% hint style="success" %} * Test & deployment strategies for each increment * Enables CD * Detailed design helps to identify risks, dependencies & unknown * Enable safe evolution of the code * Keeping it maintainable * Pro-active & continuous technical improvement aligned with biz value * Always improve * Prevents accumulation of technical debt {% endhint %} ## Conclusion ![](https://1936518372-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MAffO8xa1ZWmgZvfeK2%2F-MBct7Ht377LiSt4uLfV%2F-MBctmvbsITmPsQKJh0_%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=55795b1f-b50d-4f6e-a29b-8c57d0305b85) * Often POs * They have * No good vision * Don't own it * Product definition is vague * Product roadmap * No milestones * Create a big plan * Rigid product backlog * From High level strategy to Product backlog * Architects * Architecture are created without biz inputs * No connection with dev teams * Introduce technical milestones to balance the graph * Make sure than each phases are done * with Biz & technology * As a single team {% hint style="success" %} ***"In a software product, software design should be an explicit part of the business strategy"*** {% endhint %} ## The talk {% embed url="" %}